Twinkie Town Prospect Vote: Round 22

Lewin Diaz makes our list in round 21.

Twins Top 30 prospects for 2018

1. Royce Lewis - 57% (Gonsalves 25%, Gordon 18%)
2. Stephen Gonsalves - 55% (Gordon 30%, Javier 10%, Romero 5%)
3. Nick Gordon - 65% (Romero 19%, Javier 9%, Kirilloff 7%)
4. Zack Littell - 57% (Romero 27%, Javier 13%, Kirilloff 4%)
5. Fernando Romero 46% (Rooker 24%, Javier 21%, Kirilloff 9%)
6. Wander Javier 44% (Rooker 31%, Kirilloff 13%, Enlow 7%, Graterol 5%)
7. Brent Rooker 55% (Kirilloff 26%, Baddoo 7%, Graterol 7%, Enlow 5%)
8. Alex Kirilloff 47% (Thorpe 23%, Graterol 13%, Baddoo 10%, Enlow 7%)
9. Lewis Thorpe 30% (Graterol 22%, Baddoo 21%, Jay 16%, Enlow 12%)
10. Brudsar Graterol 29% (Baddoo 19%, Enlow 19%, Garver 17%, Jay 14%)
11. Akil Baddoo 32% (Enlow 27%, Jay 19%, Garver 15%, Jorge 7%)
12. Blayne Enlow 48% (Jay 22%, Garver 21%, Jorge 8%)
13. Tyler Jay 41% (Garver 38%, Wade 11%, Jorge 10%)
14. Mitch Garver 48% (Wade 18%, Moya 14%, Curtiss 13%, Jorge 6%)
15. LaMonte Wade 25% (Moya 23%, Curtiss 16%, Palacios 15%, Diaz 13%, Jorge 9%)
16. Gabriel Moya 32% (Palacios 19%, Curtiss 17%, Diaz 14%, Jorge 9%, Blankenhorn 9%)
17. Zack Granite 24% (Curtiss 21%, Palacios 20%, Diaz 18%, Jorge 11%, Blankenhorn 6%)
18. John Curtiss 31% (Severino 29%, Diaz 19%, Jorge 14%, Blankenhorn 7%)
19. Yunior Severino 33% (Diaz 26%, Jorge 25%, Rortvedt 13%, Blankenhorn 4%)
20. Felix Jorge 41% (Diaz 28%, Bechtold 11%, Rortvedt 11%, Blankenhorn 9%)
21. Lewin Diaz 49% (Rortvedt 15%, Bechtold 14%, Stewart 13%, Blankenhorn 9%)

We haven’t had an outfielder for several rounds so I will add a recent trade acquisition to the list of choices.

Travis Blankenhorn, 2B/3B

2018 Age: 21

2017 High Level: Cedar Rapids (A)

Travis Blankenhorn was drafted by the Twins in the 3rd round of the 2015 draft. Scouts liked his approach at the plate and his lefthanded bat. He grades out as an above average athlete but doesn’t have a “natural” position. He did well enough in his first two seasons at the plate to earn midseason promotions, first to Elizabethton and then to Cedar Rapids. The Twins can’t seem to decide which infield position suits him best as he has split time at second and third base every season. He started last season red hot at the plate but hit an extended slump that dropped his overall numbers. Still he was able to improve his production year-on-year at Cedar Rapids hitting .251/.343/.441 with 13 HR. His athletic talent should allow him to play infield and his positional flexibility could be an asset as an utility player similar to Eduardo Nunez. Blankenhorn has been slightly young for the levels he has played and has produced fairly well at the plate for an infielder. Expect to see Blankenhorn playing in Fort Myers this summer but not for the Twins before 2020.

Ben Rortvedt, C

2018 Age: 20

2017 High Level: Cedar Rapids (A)

Ben Rortvedt was drafted out of high school in Wisconsin by the Twins in the 2016 draft in the second round. Scouts loved his glove behind the plate and were encouraged by his hitting. He started off with the GCL Twins and was pushed up to Elizabethton after just 20 games. He didn’t hit very well (OPS below 600) but impressed the talent evaluators enough to start last season with Cedar Rapids. He was quite young for Cedar Rapids and it showed in his struggles at the plate. He hit just .224/.284/.315 for the Kernels. He did make significant progress with his offense after starting the season with a brutal April and May that left him hitting just .140 at the beginning of June. The Twins were impressed with his defense and encouraged enough by his ability to adjust at the plate that they still considered the aggressive promotion a success. It will be interesting to see if Rortvedt repeats Cedar Rapids this season to work on his offense or continues on the fast track at Fort Myers.

Andrew Bechtold, 3B

2018 Age: 22

2017 High Level: Elizabethton (Rookie)

Andrew Bechtold was the Twins’ fifth round draft pick in the 2017 draft from Chipola College. Chipola won the Junior College World Series and then saw several of it’s players drafted by MLB organizations. Bechtold fits well at 3B with solid range and a plus arm. He hit .299/.406/.424 in his debut at Elizabethton showing good OBP skills and decent power. He also only struck out slightly more than he walked. He was a bit old for his level so he should make his debut at Cedar Rapids and could be pushed up midseason if he performs as well as he did at Elizabethton. Bechtold has the tools needed to be an everyday 3B and his 2018 season will give us a lot of information about his likelihood to achieve that success.

Kohl Stewart, SP

2018 Age: 23

2017 High Level: Rochester (AAA)

Kohl Stewart was the Minnesota Twins 1st round pick in the 2013 draft, 4th overall. He was signed away from a commitment to play quarterback for Texas A&M for $4.5M. When Stewart was drafted scouts noted his heavy sinking fastball and his strong athletic build. He had a great debut in the rookie leagues and made several top 100 prospect lists. He pitched well in Cedar Rapids at age 19 but his strikeout rate was not exceptional (6.4 K/9). He also continued to deal with nagging shoulder soreness. People hoped his K rate would increase as he learned more about pitching and improved his offspeed offerings. Stewart was promoted to Fort Myers in 2015 and pitched 130 solid innings but his K rate dropped again to 4.9 K/9. He was sent back to Fort Myers in 2016 and pitched well enough to earn a promotion to Chattanooga with an uptick in strikeouts to 7.7 K/9. Many prospects hit their first real challenge at AA and it appears Kohl Stewart is another example. His K rate was awful (4.6 K/9) his walk rate rose (4.3 BB/9) in Chattanooga and he dealt with a knee injury. In 2017 he was not particularly effective and continued to rehab injuries but did pitch 5 innings at AAA. Stewart was not added to the 40 man roster this November which meant he was eligible to be drafted in the Rule 5 draft. Despite his draft pedigree, Stewart was not selected. There were rumors he was headed back to college to play football but he elected to stay with the Twins. He still has a power sinking fastball that generates grounders but lacks a breaking ball that misses bats. He also has had nagging shoulder injuries throughout his minor league career. At this point it looks more likely that he leaves the organization as a six year minor league free agent than a scenario where he becomes a big league contributor.

Jacob Pearson, LF

2018 Age: 20

2017 High Level: Arizona Angels (Rookie)

Jacob Pearson was drafted by the Angels out of high school in the third round of the 2017 draft. Pearson was considered the top high school talent in Louisiana on draft day so the Angels went overslot and signed him for a $1M bonus. He was acquired by the Twins for the opportunity to spend $1M in international bonus money. The Angels used that money to acquire Shohei Otani so I’m guessing they’re pretty happy with that trade. Pearson had a rough introduction to wood bat leagues hitting just .226/.302/.284 for the Angels’ rookie team but appeared to be making adjustments as the season progressed. Pearson projects as a future left fielder with enough speed to cover that position but due to a shoulder surgery not enough arm for CF. Scouts think he can hit for power and like his approach at the plate. He is also praised for his work ethic. Expect to see Pearson working in extended spring training before being sent to Elizabethton this summer.